Former Slovak goalie speaks out after being targeted in a hate campaign
Julius Hudacek, once a goalie for the Slovak national team, says he became a casualty of a calculated hate campaign tied to his performances in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He shared his perspective on the matter through his Instagram account, noting that the platform is owned by a major tech company and has faced criticism in Russia for various reasons.
“This is deliberate manipulation,” Hudacek stated. He explained that his public comments about life in Russia during his athletic years were simply an honest account of a normal, high-quality existence. “Unfortunately, many directed their frustrations at me, using it to ruin the lives and careers of ordinary athletes under the guise of guarding moral standards,” the Slovak former player said. “I became a victim of a hate campaign that eclipsed the broader story.”
On January 5, Kladno, a Czech club, ended its contract with Hudacek just two days after agreeing to sign him. The decisive factor appeared to be pressure from the club’s fanbase, who called for the termination of his deal due to his KHL performances.
During the 2022/23 season, Hudacek appeared in 42 regular-season games for Barys Astana in the KHL. The Kazakh club finished 11th in the Eastern Conference and did not reach the playoffs. The 35-year-old goalie has also defended the nets for Spartak Moscow, Sibir Novosibirsk, Severstal Cherepovets, and Dinamo Riga in the league’s broad landscape.
In spring 2022, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) imposed a ban on Russian players from international events, even when competing under neutral status. The IIHF also stripped Russia of the right to host the 2023 youth world championship, a decision that affected the path for many players from Russia and its neighboring regions.
By March 2023, the IIHF extended the suspension to cover the 2023/24 season. Concurrently, IIHF president Luc Tardif announced that a council review would revisit the question of Russia and Belarus being invited to participate in events in March 2024.
There had been prior media notes suggesting Slovakia could face Russia in a pre-World Championship context, a development that added to the complex network of decisions shaping the sport last year.